


You Better Leave Now

by CuriousThimble



Series: Fictober 2020 [14]
Category: Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Mistreatment of Mages, Other, Solitary Confinement, tw: language, tw: rape mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:48:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27013015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CuriousThimble/pseuds/CuriousThimble
Summary: When Anders sneaks down to solitary to talk to Evette, he overhears something that enrages him.
Series: Fictober 2020 [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948270
Kudos: 4





	You Better Leave Now

Anders crept down the damp stairs, pressing close to the wall. He’d had to change his robes before anyone in the tower saw him upstairs, but he couldn’t just leave her down there.

Especially not when it was his fault.

He knew it was his fault— it had to be. They’d held the brand too close to his face, asking for… he didn’t know what they’d wanted, but the bastards had put the tranquil brand so close he could feel his skin blister. The slip had come later, when he’d lain in chains and pain had been so great he’d called out her name, desperate for a cooling touch.

_ They started watching her then, _ he thought, carefully counting the stairs to make sure he didn’t pass the door. He’d tried to distance himself from Evette, but with Karl gone… He just  _ liked _ her. Her cold demeanor made him want to make her smile and laugh. 

He froze when he heard voices. One of them was Rutherford, the bastard. He’d taken particular pleasure in smiting Anders over and over when he’d been in solitary— he’d not forget that soon. The other had been in Kinloch for a while but didn’t have the stomach for punishment; Vallence wasn’t usually on solitary duty. 

Pressed to the wall as close as he could get, Anders held his breath and listened. With a breathless thanks to the Maker, he pulled a small mirror from one of his many pockets and angled it to see around the corner.

“You’re sweet on her!” Vallence said, laughing.

Rutherford rubbed the back of his neck, blushing and trying not to laugh. “She’s pretty, yeah. But she’s a mage.”

“So? That’s the beauty of it, Cullen! You can do what you want with her and she can’t trap you into a marriage. Mages will roll over for just about any little luxury.”

To his credit, Rutherford’s jaw went slack. “You don’t really...do that...do you?”

Vallence laughed harder, leaning against the wall for support. “Sure I do! Didn’t they tell you in training? Those robes can hide a real firecracker, it’d be a shame not to try it out now and then.”

Rage boiled in Anders’ blood and he pushed himself off the wall. “You whoresons think you can just rape whoever you want, don’t you?” he roared, lightning sparking from his fingers. “You put a helpless mage in solitary and tell her the only way out is to fuck you!”

The smite hit like a hammer to the chest, knocking the breath and all sense of magic from him. Rutherford was on Anders in a heartbeat, wrapping a hand around his throat and pinning him to the floor.

“What are you doing down here?” he demanded. “Come to break your friends out?”

Struggling, Anders clawed at the hand around his throat. “Check—” he gasped. “Vette.”

“Aww, he came to see if his girlfriend needed him,” Vallence sneered, sauntering over. “Well, Anders, let me tell you a secret. Cullen here is sweet on Amell, too,” he taunted. “Guess which one of you will have her?”

“Vallence,” Rutherford growled, his amber eyes burning into Anders’. “I think you better leave now. I’ll deal with this.”


End file.
